Finding out you have prediabetes might feel scary, but it comes with an important silver lining: You don’t have Type 2 diabetes yet, and you can take steps to prevent it. As a valuable bonus, these steps can help lower your risk of long-term complications of diabetes, such as damage to your kidneys, blood vessels, and heart, while improving your overall health and well-being. 

Dr. Javier Sosa and his team at Woodlands Primary Healthcare are pleased to provide preventive health care and diabetes diagnostics and treatment in The Woodlands, Texas. Read on to learn effective ways you can keep prediabetes from progressing into diabetes. 

Prediabetes 101

Prediabetes means your blood sugar is higher than normal, but not high enough to meet the criteria for Type 2 diabetes, a chronic condition that interferes with your body’s ability to metabolize glucose, or sugar. Your body either doesn’t produce enough insulin to maintain normal blood sugar levels or resists its effects. 

Occasionally, prediabetes causes darkened skin on certain body parts, such as your armpits, knees, knuckles, or neck. Typically, however, prediabetes doesn’t cause noticeable symptoms. This is one reason to stay up on your annual physicals, especially if you have diabetes risk factors, such as high blood pressure or family history of the disease.

Prediabetes lifestyle changes

Some factors that raise your risk for Type 2 diabetes, such as genetics, can’t be changed. Shifting your lifestyle habits, however, can make a powerful, positive difference and potentially reverse prediabetes before it progresses. 

To lower your risk for full-blown diabetes, adopt healthy lifestyle habits, such as:

• Eating a balanced diet
• Engaging in moderate-intensity exercise, aiming for 30-60 minutes most days
• Avoiding sitting for lengthy amounts of time
• Managing stress and aiming for sufficient nightly sleep
• Quitting smoking
• Seeking support from our qualified health care team
• Stay motivated by making healthy eating and physical activity enjoyable

These steps can improve your cardiovascular health by lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. If you carry excess weight—another risk factor—these steps will help there, too. We even offer weight management programs to help you achieve your weight loss goals.

Signs of full-blown diabetes

If you’re already experiencing signs of diabetes, swift medical guidance is important. Common Type 2 diabetes symptoms include:

• Blurred vision
• Increased hunger
• Increased thirst
• Unexplained fatigue

Once you’re diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, medical treatment and lifestyle changes, including those that can help reverse prediabetes, can go a long way toward improving your health and well-being.

Learn more about prediabetes by calling Woodlands Primary Healthcare or requesting an appointment with Dr. Sosa on our website. No matter your health concerns, our medical team is here to help.